Quote:
Originally Posted by GTripp0012
I agree with you, and I disagree. Let me elaborate...
I agree wholeheartedly that the Coaching staff can not be blamed for sustained failure. Good schemes can provide a decisive edge on a single game level, but over the course of the season, NO coach will outscheme all his opponents. If the end of the season rolls around, and a team has on the whole put in a sub par performance, then only the players are to be blamed. The coaching factor will ALWAYS even out over 16 games. Coaches will not be a decisive factor between a 10-6 team, and a 5-11 team.
Early season, the losing was almost exclusively a defensive issue. Through the first half of our season, the only thing this team had going for it was the passing game. Our passing game completely fell off the map once Brunell was replaced by Campbell. This wasn't because Campbell was playing exceptionally poorly, but because our offense missed our "puss-armed" QB coming out and completing 63% week in and week out. Campbell was throwing at a Vick-like 51% through his first five starts and our offense was suffering. We lost a very significant yard and a half per attempt with #17 in. Luckily, Cooley made a gamebreaking play vs. Carolina and the defense held New Orleans quiet, or JC would have been without a win this year.
The line certainly picked up their play in the 2nd half giving Campbell time that Brunell never had, and opening planet sized holes for Ladell Betts that Portis never had. But our power/short yardage running game completely sucked all year, and without Brunell to complete short 3rd down passes, the combination of Campbell's inaccuracies and lack of a short game made us one of the leagues worst teams in third and short.
It was so bad that the 2006 Redskins had a better shot to convert 3rd and 5 than they did to convert 3rd and 2. No lie.
In summary: quit blaming coaching staffs, quit blaming Brunell, fix the defense, and god damn it fix the short yardage running game (get another TE who can block in there).
Lets get er done.
|
GTripp. I'm not insulting your opinion but our passing game, from the end of 05 and almost all of last year has been well below average. How can you say our passing fell off the map? IT WAS NEVER ON THE MAP w/Brunell. That is why he got benched. Brunell could not even throw for 200 yards in most of his starts. For the life of me I can't believe you think our passing game was good last year w/ Brunell. What games were you watching? The one against the NYG. when Brunell threw for 109 yards? Or was it the one against Phil. when he threw for a buck thirty? Can someone tell me how an NFL QB can only throw for 109 yards? That's just ridicules. I swear all you care about is Brunell's completion % and QB rating. Those stats don't tell the real story! Here is the real story. 3-8 and Brunell throws a 4 yards pass to Cooley and hopes he runs for a 1st down. Sorry but I blame that on the QB for not having the confidence in his arm to throw in downfield. Plus in a lot of games he was getting garbage stats at the end of halfs and when games had already been decided. Like against Indy. Stat line looks good but he didn't play well when the game hadn't been decided yet.
We have the talent on offense becasue now we have a QB who can make all the thows and the offense will not be limited to a dink and dunk passing game. When JC is behind center teams don't stack the line. They respect his arm. Opposing defenses don't respect Brunell's arm and that's why the running game sucked. 11 men were lurking around the line. Now Al S. can open it up more. Of couse JC will have to do his part and work getting better at the short passing game. But the guy didn't get any reps with the first offense until week 9 of his 2nd year. Give the guy a freakin break!
I played HS football many years ago. I was a QB. Ya know what my coach use to tell me? If your gonna play Qb for me you better be tough and you better push the ball down the field cause 1/2 the time the ref is going to call a penalty. I swear to god that's what old John Harvill use to tell me. Well at least Brunell is tough as nails. But somewhere along the line I think the guy lost his confidence to push the ball down the field.